Tag archives for Water
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Water is a very important resource for life. Every day we use it for drinking, washing, farming and cooking. But it’s not an unlimited resource, so we need to find ways to use it more wisely.
The Colorado River is one source of water that is disappearing. It stretches 1,450 miles (2,333 kilometers), but can barely even reach the sea anymore. The water is split up among seven states in the U.S. and Mexico. Around 30 million people use this source of water for drinking and irrigation. This means that there is little water left over to support the ecosystem that lives along the river’s path.
It may be hard to believe, but we all use the water from the Colorado River. It isn’t just farmers who use it for irrigation or big cities like Las Vegas. Many of us consume items produced in the region, such as hamburgers and cornmeal.
Did you know that the average American uses twice as much water as the global average? That’s about 2,000 gallons per person every day!
To make a difference, adults are pledging to change what they do on a daily basis, by eating less meat or carpooling. For every pledge that an adult makes, Change the Course will help put back 1,000 gallons of water to the Colorado River. Ask your parents if they want to learn more about Change the Course.
And yes, please do turn off the faucet when you brush your teeth. Every drop counts.
What will you do to change the course?
Phenomenal Friday Fact
Phenomenal Friday Fact
Conservation Starts in the Bathroom?
You might not know it, but water goes in to making many of the things we use every day. Did you know it takes 713 gallons of water to make one t-shirt and 3,170 gallons of water to make one pound of chocolate? Check out The Hidden Water We Use to learn more about how much water it takes to produce cheese, coal, and other everyday objects and foods.
Phenomenal Friday Fact
Posted by After we left Singapore we went to Myanmar which is untouched by the western world. It is so foreign that I will bet that 3/4 of the people reading this don’t even know that it is in Asia.
In Myanmar everything that the typical American kid thinks is a necessity is really something very rare. We take for granted things like clean water. Most people in Myanmar drink rain water that is not filtered which means there are lots of tiny bacteria that would make Americans sick but it doesn’t seem to affect the Burmese people.
Another Phenomenal Friday Fact
Scientists are working on an eco-friendly substance that will help keep oil from sticking to birds during future oil spills. The substance, which is funded by the National Science Foundation and is currently being tested, will act like a laundry detergent; breaking the oil down and keeping it from sticking to birds’ feathers.
The 10-year Census of Marine Life wrapped up on Monday. The project launched more than 500 expeditions over the past decade and uncovered 6.000 new species, like the fathead sculpin fish pictured above, nicknamed “Mr. Blobby.”
See pictures of more newly discovered species on National Geographic News.
Learn more about the census on the Census of Marine Life website.
Explore a shipwreck and raft a raging river when you play Waterlogged!
Photograph courtesy Kerryn Parkingson, NORFANZ
You may think of the ocean as the big body of water you see at your favorite beach, but the ocean is much more than that. All animals, including humans, need water to live, and water passes from ocean to the air and back again through the water cycle. The world’s oceans also help us to breathe, giving us more than half of our oxygen.
I Am the Ocean is a call to raise awareness of this vital resource and the problems facing it. Learn more about I Am the Ocean on National Geographic.
Photograph by Enric Sala, National Geographic
Have you ever thought about how much water you and your family use each day? Grab your mom or dad and find out your water footprint using the National Geographic water calculator! You can also compare your family’s water usage to other people in your area, and pledge to reduce your water footprint.
Check out the water footprint calculator on National Geographic.
Learn more about conserving resources on National Geographic Kids.
The average bathtub can hold 40-50 gallons of water. That’s a LOT of water going down the drain when you’re ready to dry off. Want a quick way to save water on Earth Day (April 22)? Skip the bath!
If your parents insist that you wash off mud from soccer practice, think about taking a shower instead of hopping in the tub. Conventional showers use 7-10 gallons per minute, and water-saving shower heads use 2-4 gallons per minute. So if you jump in for a 5-minute shower, you’ll use about 10 to 35 gallons during a 5-minute shower.
Get more green tips from National Geographic Kids.
Play Creek Cleanup and see how much trash you can scoop out of the water.
Did you know that the average bathtub holds about 40-50 gallons (151 to 189 liters) of water? So when you take a bath you use a lot of water. Why not skip the bath on Earth Day and save some precious water?
Or take a quick shower to wash off the day’s grime. If you have a water-saving shower head installed on your shower, you might use only 10 gallons (38 liters) of water during a 5-minute shower.
What other water-saving tips do you have to share with other kids?
